I recently saw an article of the New York Post written by David Kaufman regarding millennials and so called “starter marriages.” Now, I don’t habitually peruse through the Post’s site. In fact I tend to avoid the publication altogether. But the headline drew me in and I thought it would make for an interesting topic of discussion. The article – which I encourage you to read and form your own opinions on – quite frankly doesn’t paint an all too pretty picture regarding millennials’ lifestyle choices.

via pewresearch.org

In the article, Kaufman cited “a recent study” that shows 43 per cent of millennials support some form of “starter marriages”, in other words a marriage that doesn’t last for more than a couple of years. Here is my main gripe with this article. The author uses the HBO series Girls to support his claims by referencing various storylines on the show. Now I know that television characters can often reflect real life personalities, but the thing to remember is that these are exaggerated portrayals – that more often than not are there for nothing more than entertainment value. Can we learn from these characters? Of course, but to use them as the basis for your argument, claiming that they so conveniently reflect the ideals and habits of the demographic you’re trying to denounce – while solely focusing on the negative (taking examples from a show that rarely focuses on the positive aspects of its characters, mind you) is hardly the basis for a strong and convincing argument. A little later on Kaufman gives us a look at another stat, this time it’s something from a Pew Center report that states that 26 per cent of millennials are married. So if we go by these numbers a quarter of Generation Y already took the plunge, while close to half of that number support the idea of small periods of matrimony. But let’s examine things further.

via goldmansachs.com

According to the Pew Center Report 36 per cent of Gen X-ers were married 20 years ago, and 48 per cent of Baby Boomers were married in the 80s. Looking at the low numbers for millennials today, these stats definitely do show that Millennilas aren’t exactly lining up to get married. But it’s not because they’re entitled brats, incapable of trusting one another and forming meaningful relationships as Kaufman would suggest. A study released by Goldman Sachs shows that the median marriage age right now is 30 compared to the median of 23 in the 70s. It also shows that up to 23 per cent of people 18-31 believe that marriage can be put off. If you examine people belonging to the same age group in the mid-60s and early 80’s you’ll see that those numbers skyrocket to 56 and 43 per cent respectively. One aspect of the Pew Research centers report that Kaufman failed to mention is why so many millennials aren’t getting married. The survey states; “most unmarried Millennials (69%) say they would like to marry, but many, especially those with lower levels of income and education, lack what they deem to be a necessary prerequisite—a solid economic foundation.”

via goldmansachs.com

So are millennials just incapable of forming functional long term relationships like Kaufman and the cast of Girls would have you believe? Absolutely not. Just because they’re not rushing into it doesn’t mean that millennials have any ill feelings towards marriage. What we’re seeing here is a generation that’s patient, and responsible enough to put off such a large milestone in favor of first finding economic and personal stability in which they can then build upon.

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Millennials now comprise the majority of the workforce in Canada and the United states, surpassing both Generation Xers and Baby Boomers. This is pretty big news considering some of the stigmas that surround millennials in the workplace. But is there any truth to them? Well, let’s find out.

via colleendilen.com

One of the biggest knocks on millennials is that they’re self-absorbed. The two biggest complaints being that they’re not team players and that they’re narcissists. That seems like a pretty damaging blow at first but while they do struggle with the environmental aspect of work, millennials succeed far and beyond their Gen X counterparts in multiple other categories. According to a study from online workplace, Elance-oDesk, millennials are a good deal more creative, adaptable and open to change than the older Generation X workers. Just to put that into perspective, 66 per cent of millennials are more creative than Gen Xers. In terms of adaptability, millennials are 60 per cent more able than Generation X employees. When you consider the age gap between the two this begins to make a lot more sense. Someone in their early 20s isn’t as settled in with their lifestyle as someone in their mid 40s. Millennials tend to embrace new challenges and can usually learn as they go. When considering this last stat, it should come as no surprise that an astounding 72 percent of millennials are much more open to change as compared to 28 per cent of Generation X employees.

via elance-odesk.com

But as previously stated, Generation X workers possess traits that many employers still find attractive, their ability to work together and unselfish attitude when compared to their younger counterparts are what set the two apart. Here’s another thing about Millennials, 58 per cent of them are expected to leave their jobs after around three years in search of a new one. Fifty-three percent of managers admit that they find it hard to maintain them over time. Now at first glance, it might seem like millennials just carelessly jump ship every now and then. But, there’s more to it than a bunch of kids not being able to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Graham F. Scott brings up an interesting point in an article of his, which you can find by clicking this link. He suggests that the reason these millennials are leaving is the fault of none other than the employers themselves. With low pay and a myriad of internships to deal with it’s possible that these millennials either lose interest over time or never really form a strong enough bond with their employers. Wouldn’t you do the same if you were making the same bare minimum pay for three straight years? At that point, a change of scenery would make a lot of sense.

via canadianbusiness.com

So are millennials really as bad as some people say they are when it comes to working? Absolutely not. They just work differently than their counterparts do and uphold a different set of values. Isn’t that normal? A different generation means a different approach to how they choose to do things – and the workplace is no different. Sure, they struggle with aspects of work that other generations typically don’t, but they also bring an entirely new skill-set to the table.